


Freedom's Never Free

by mandorable



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Blind Betrayal spoilers, Established Relationship, Hardcore Questionable Decisions, M/M, Pining, Post Main Storyline, Relationship Issues, Spoilers, Tags to be added, The Railroad Ending, main storyline spoilers, my heart hurts bc Danse and non-Brotherhood of Steel endings kill me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 19:49:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6164665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandorable/pseuds/mandorable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who would have thought in the aftermath of deciding the fate of the Commenwealth, the only thing to truly matter is the opinion of a existential synth. </p><p>A soft man had tried to choose the best way to destroy the Institute, and the Railroad had offered the kindest option. The freedom of a people, the people of the man he loved. The fallout that follows is near nuclear.</p><p>(A self-indulgent fic following the events post main storyline, in which my sole survivor tries to prove to himself and others, what he had done was the better of two evils.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freedom's Never Free

**Author's Note:**

> I am notoriously bad at finishing fics. I doubt this will be the one to break my habit. I can't guarantee if this story will continue, or if it won't just be a collection of dabbles involving my sole.
> 
> However, I do hope you enjoy. If you guys bug me enough, it might jar my ass into finishing this.
> 
> It's also not beta'd but I've been using spell check so let's hope nothing is too bad.

_God. Oh God._

Feet struck the tile floor of the listening post at a frantic pace. The sound deafening in the silence of the wastes. But all was not quiet. His thoughts were screaming around his head like bullets fatally ricocheting off tunnel walls. He pressed the call button for the elevator, calloused fingers almost missing their mark. Reality seemed to be slipping from his desperate grappling.

The elevator dinged, opening at its casual rate. However, this time it felt as the aged doors took eons to open. 

_No. No-no, please no._

He crossed the threshold and thumbed the button to take him to the basement. He has quickly come to loathe this elevator. It was a nuisance- spending several minutes stuck in a tiny cubicle. In his current state he felt ready to explode from agitation or anxiety, he did not know. He shuffled around the small space, focusing on the hum of the elevator instead of his shortening breath. 

The elevator lurched as it finally reached its destination. The damp air of the listening post basement was like a drink of cool water for his lungs. The concrete below his feet echoed off the stone walls. He stepped around the corner.

"Danse! Oh God, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," the energy that had been buzzing through his muscles since before his arrival at the post melted away. His shoulders sagged, his breathing calmed.

The ex-Paladin was repairing a rusted panel on his power armor when he was greeted by the vault-dweller. Pulling away from his work he turned to face the other man. Danse tensed in response to the approach, stood stiff as two thick arms wrapped around his barrel chest.

The vault-dweller's lips pressed against his own unyielding pair. However, the kiss was brief and the other man had not noticed. His chest was heaving against Danse's like he ran a marathon. He was drowning in the experience of finally feeling grounded, completely oblivious to his companion's obvious stiff reactions. He took a deep breath.

"Danse, I am so hap-"

"I know what you've done," he replied in an icy tone.

"Oh."

Danse gently gripped the other man's arms, calmly pried them from his person and let go. "I heard Travis reporting it on the radio. I-I can't believe it. All our brothers and sister aboard the Prydwen. They're gone," he took a shallow breath, "You massacred all of them."

The Vault-Dweller turned pale, looking near ready to vomit. In that moment, the world truly felt as if it had crumbled beneath his feet. He went limp in the ex-Paladin's grasp. Swallowing air like the hand calmly holding his arm was really around his throat, blocking the air in as violently a manner as a pre-war car accident.

"I... Danse, you-I'm so-" he exhaled shakily, withdrawing himself to stand a few feet away from his companion. "I'm sorry, God. I know- I just... It was that or kill more of my friends, Danse. I-I wouldn't let them try to take someone from me again. It-I-It was a choice of two evils, Danse."

"What you did," his response came out in a wounded tone, extraordinarily emotional compared to his normal expressiveness. "What you did was certainly evil. You betrayed so many people. Our comrades."

"Look, Danse, I am not at all happy or proud of what I did. It was a choice I had to make though," he breathed a heavy sigh, "I-The Brotherhood is important to you I know. I, uhm, I'll give you time to think this out? Danse, I just couldn't- They wanted me to kill my friends, Danse. You can at least understand that, right?"

"Just go."

"Yeah. Okay. I'll send someone with supplies for the next few weeks, if you, uh, want to see me, let them know. They'll pass it on. If not I understand," he turned, walking to the elevator's open doors, taking a final look back at Danse, "I wouldn't want to look me in the eye after this, either." The man crossed the threshold, pressed the button and waited for the doors to close agonizingly slow. He actively avoided looking in Danse's direction until the doors had slid shut.

He felt like the world was ending all over again.


End file.
